Sunchoke Winter Stew

Sunchokes + Deborah Madison + Burnt Swamp Farm = Pure, unadulterated stew heaven!

Madison's recipe is entirely vegetarian.  I modified her recipe by adding hot Italian ground pork, parsnips, celeriac instead of celery stalks, and more sunchoke than she called for.  I also used basil pesto instead of her quasi-gremolata as a topping.  Killer good.  We're happy.  And stuffed. 

Garnish with just about anything that moves you.  My parsley is completely dead from the lack of snow cover, so I used basil pesto that I made last summer and keep in the freezer.  If you've got parsley, mince up a handful with more fresh garlic into a nice paste.  Or use chopped scallions.  Or even garnish with quark or sour cream....  And, be sure to serve with hearty bread.  Sunnyfield Bakery's walnut and date bread was killer with this stew.

Burnt Swamp Farm's Hot Italian ground pork (perfect heat) met Brookford Farm's sunchokes, leeks, parsnips and celeriac, Heron Pond Farm's small bliss potatoes, carrots and onions, and Meadow's Mirth garlic.  All was simmered with homemade stock (which in and of itself was an ultralicious blend of Brookford's delicata squash seeds and roasted Twister Allie ribeye bones that simmered for an hour together), red wine, tomato paste, thyme, bay and nutmeg.  A healthy dollop of homemade basil pesto topped off our bowls.  YUM!  Silky, luxurious, homey, rich, sweet (from the parsnips and tomato paste) and spicey (pork) with a bit of tang (chokes and celeriac) and a touch of buttery pesto ...all good.  Promise. 

Pumpkin Stew

Digging into this stew is fun and tasty.  The cooked, sweet pumpkin flesh easily pulls away with each spoonful of goodness, and provides lots of nutrients, flavor and rich, comfort-food texture.  The crunchy, seasoned pumpkin seeds make for a wonderful contrast, but might be too much of a chew for some once they soften in the stew and thus lose their crunch. 

October--the perfect time to pick up a couple o' pie pumpkins from your local farmstand to make stew with!  To make the dish pictured, choose a couple of small-ish pie pumpkins.  Create lids, leaving stems intact.  Scoop out all the seeds and set aside in a bowl of fresh water.

Rub pumpkins with olive oil, put tops back on, taking care to line up ribs for best fit.  Set aside while making the filling.

For the filling, use whatever moves you.  I went for a gumbo-style stew without the shellfish.  I even had gumbo filé on hand, a fine powdery seasoning made from dried Sassafras tree leaves (one of my favorite trees here in the northeast!) used for thickening stew, as well as, creole seasoning from a batch of homemade spice rubs (it's easy to make your own blends of seasonings; see my recipe below).  Leftover roasted potatoes were way too tempting to leave out, so they were also added.  For this carni version, I used bone-in chicken thighs and local andouille sausage from Brookford Farm.  Great stuff, but this could e-a-s-i-l-y be made for vegans and vegetarians by simply omitting the meat and beefing up (sorry, pun intended) with all kinds of root veggies.

What makes a true gumbo authentic is the chocolate-colored roux.  The French typically use a very light roux for thickening soups and stews.  For this roux, though, the same ingredients are cooked for a much longer period of time.  One might think they were about to burn their roux!  Have no fear, it makes for a killer stew!